The rhomboid shape of the Mk. VIII's track frames harkened back to the earliest British landship designs. The 6 pounder guns were located in the sponsons, as in earlier designs, and behind each sponson was a door that mounted a .30cal MG. The longitudinal line of rivets that runs under the sponson shows the outline of the hull, which itself is hidden between the tracks. The mechanism for the track tension idler can be seen at the front of this line of rivets. The commander's boxlike cupola can be seen resting atop the nonrotating turret. The structure above the rear tracks was the unditching gear strut, and the aperture behind the side door with the machine gun was a mud deflection chute. (Picture from Tank Data, vol. 1.)

The imposing size of the Mk. VIII can be gleaned by comparing it to the man standing in front of the tank on the hill's reverse slope. (Picture taken in 1921-3 by Harris & Ewing, Inc.; available from the Library of Congress.)

A closer view of the side of the vehicle is shown here. The sponson gun is not mounted, but the location of the side door machine gun ball mount can be seen, and the machine gun positions in the turret can just be glimpsed immediately above the track. A vision slot was placed in the sponson behind the gun; these slots had visors with three different protection levels. (Photo by Richard S. Eshleman.)

This image was taken through the open right side door, looking diagonally forward into the tank. The left-side sponson gun mount can be seen, as well as the vision slot behind it. The mannequin is standing up in the turret, and copious ammunition stowage is apparent under the floor and under the sponson gun mount opposite. (Photo by Richard S. Eshleman.)

The tank's engine was provided with a bulkhead, as opposed to earlier rhomboid designs, and this picture is shot through an opening in the bulkhead. The fan for the ventilation system is to the left of the engine in this image, and the fan's vertical attachment to the missing ventilation ducting is below the engine's exhaust manifold. The engine's hand crank mounting can be seen at the extreme bottom right of the photograph. (Photo by Richard S. Eshleman.)